I used this fragrance years ago and loved it. I have not worn a fragrance since. A few days ago I "sampled" the frangrance in a department store and the scent brought back memories. It is expensive but I will buy it again. Some things are worth paying extra for and this is one of them.

I want to use Jardins de Bagatelle not as an example of Big Eighties touchstones, but as a valentine example of what I don't imagine we will see again. By modern standards, the inflated white florals of Bagatelle would be a no-no. A niche house might get away with the enormity of Bagatelle, but not with Bagatelle's garden-party formula of tuberose, jasmine, neroli, and mimosa. It's too overfed for today, it's "perfume" from a time when "perfume" was not an allergenic, dirty word, and it stands too far apart from the modern fragrance moment.

Of all the Guerlains, Bagatelle is the most mutable. Violet and vetiver are most noticeable on me, but others will speak of tuberose or jasmine as the dominant florals and of a drag of civet across the base that is nearly hidden in the composition's recesses. I even hesitate at the "white floral" designator, since violet is not a white floral.

It is impossible to quantify Bagatelle by its list of notes. Unlike YSL Paris, which it resembles in theme, Bagatelle works away from the traditional rose/violet core by leveraging those two traditional notes against sucrose-sweet jasmine/tuberose and soapy neroli.

What seems at first to be a nearly promiscuous and over-animated use of white florals is quickly disciplined by the dryness of the vetiver, which in Bagatelle's case reminds one of graphite. Violet is so hardy as to allow only reserve amounts of the other florals to appear, sometimes as individuals and sometimes en masse, yet Bagatelle doesn't seem hectic. I've always felt that violet is too assertive a note for me, but in Bagatelle violet gravitates towards, and not away from, the creamy complexion of the remainder florals.

Oddly, the base vetiver that rebukes the floral bouquet almost upon spraying disppears over time and in no way describes the overall drydown as I thought it would. It becomes a tailgate modifier to a mostly chypre base. This is, in today's terms, very modern (consider 31, Rue Cambon's moss-less afterlife) while the effusive top speaks in the language of Eighties compositional particulars. In Bagatelle's base, the sandalwood ends up penetrating the vetiver while the violet continues as an unexpectedly visceral note.

Bagatelle is not quite so much like the garden it aromatically represents; the florals are there in profusion but the earthier elements are abstractions of what the floor of a garden might smell like rather than the soil itself. In the classical code, though, it is devoted to a style that I fear we have lost, call it what you will, but I doubt it is merely an interregnum.

this is my in my top 5 favourite perfumes. I love this perfume as not too many people in Australia know of it, which can make it sometimes hard to get. I haven't had this perfume for about 8 years, sprayed some the other night, and the smell, I was like I have to have it. These days I feel perfumes smell the same, however this perfume nothing compares to it. I am hoping Santa may bring me it - fingers crossed.

Jardins de Bagatelle is a sophisticated floral that sometimes has hints of being a chypre,a tobacco, or a green fragrance by turns. It's similar to Quelques Fleurs in that regard. I'm confused by the many different reports of notes for Bagatelle. Update 2011 - despite anyversion of the official notes, Jardin de Bagatelle reminds me a lotof a more feminine version of Declaration Essence.

I sampled this fragrance a the Guerlain and walked out with it. This is such a beautiful, classy and feminine fragrance. This is the perfect summer fragrance. When I wear this I get notes of Tuberose which is not loud or overpowering but just right for a hot summers day. The mix of wood and the tubereuse is just splendid.

My oly peeve is that I allowed the sales girl to talk me into getting this in EDT. I will definitely keep buying this fragrance but the next time in EDP. As much as I am loving this fragrance I think it will be goon very fast so I am looking forward to the EDP purchase. Honestly the EDT has to be refereshed every hour or so.

More than a year ago I had one spritz out of a bottle I have and in an instant I know that it's very unlikely that I will be able to wear this in public. Although the top note is bergamot, the real stars of the show are gardenia and tuberose and they are really really loud. It is even louder than EL's Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia. If I can find a quieter way of wearing this perfume may be I'll go near the bottle again but I haven't yet touched that bottle again except when I'm rearranging my bottles.

Oh, I so much love this fragrance…The first time I sniffed it, it was back in the late Eighties, I was a teenager (but very styled and with clear fragrance ideas/tastes in mind!) and this was the novelty perfume worn by this very rich and elegant socialite of my area. I was babysitting her little girl for the summer and could appreciate this perfume she was wearing daily.. she really made a statement, and it was so popular on her, everybody complimenting her, that I recall she was offering it to her friends those lovely bath/lotion/fragrance sets of JdB.I loved that fragrance…. For the hype that surrounded it at that time but also for its uniqueness and the sheer beauty of it. To me Jardins de Bagatelle represents the fragrance of summer, and as many other reviewers said, it is for a woman of style, that has a defined personality and is at the time sophisticated, elegant and yes, not understated at all! When I grew older I started using it and went though many bottles of this lovely, classy scent. I discovered that I love white flowers with this perfume. I also discovered that men loved it a lot. I always got tons of compliments about this perfume… I guess it represents a classical but joyful femininity... and people are attracted by that. I recently got into JdB again - after years of forgetting it for unknown reasons! - and noticed how much I missed that fragrance... mostly the drydown as other people below have noticed. The drydown is the best part of it: so lovely, powdery, warm and feminine and close to your skin... makes me feel really good! Incredible staying power, in addition... If you don't like to smell the perfume on your clothes the day after, this may not be for you...:o)So, thanks to a very generous swapper, I could put my hands on it again very recently … It’s summer here now, and I am wearing it. It reminds me of those years, a long time ago… and of the girl I wanted to be. Which is the girl I am… I love this perfume, it’s definitely me! ____________________________(as per Osmoz)top notesBergamot, Violet, Lemon, Flower Calyx note heart noteNarcissus, Cassie, Iris, Lily of the valley base noteVetiver, Cedar, Civet, Patchouli

Jardins de Bagatelle is one of those perfumes that I used to love in the 1990's but it now smells heavy and cloying compared with fresh new beauties like 31 rue Cambon and Lys Mediterranee. Even Creed's Love in White puts this to shame and I know it is not the most popular scent on the MUA Fragrance Board.

I'm a bit sad about no longer admiring Jardins de Bagatelle because for a while, it seemed so Parisian and elegant to me. Now it just seems like an obvious sweet-ish floral bouquet of roses, jasmine and tuberose.

Per Basenotes, here are the notes: Rose, Tuberose, Neroli, Gardenia and Magnolia.

(EDT) A lovely blend of white flowers... that turned to pickles! *sigh*. Just another one of a series of harrowing ordeals with the classic Guerlains. Blasted chemistry. Would still recommend - if one can find it. No sale for me though, obviously.